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| LIBERAL VS. LIBERAL | |
 October 24 , 2000  |
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With the election two weeks away and polls deadlocked, will Green Party candidate Ralph Nader be a spoiler for Gore? Following a background report, Gwen Ifill talks with Jim Hightower and Senator Paul Wellstone. |
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JIM LEHRER: The big Nader debate. Betty Ann Bowser begins our coverage.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: He may be kidding, but the campaign of third-party candidate Ralph Nader has turned out to be no joke. Last night he spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, slamming Vice President Al Gore and Governor George Bush equally hard. RALPH NADER: Let's not unduly personalize George W. Bush, because you know what he really is, he's nothing more than a big corporation running for president disguised as a human being. That's all. (Applause) |
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| In the home stretch | ||||||||||||||||||||
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BETTY ANN BOWSER: In the final two weeks of the campaign, the impact of Nader's Green Party run for the White House has become a problem -- not for Governor Bush, but for the Vice President -- drawing away some traditionally liberal votes. SPOKESMAN: Please welcome Ralph Nader.
RALPH NADER: The impact this effort has on Bush, Gore-- that's their problem. That's not my problem. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Some former Nader raiders have asked their boss to pull out of states where Gore is in a dead heat with Bush. Nader dismisses them as well-intentioned but frightened liberals who sided with the lesser of two evils and focuses instead on the future.
BETTY ANN BOWSER: A major goal of Nader's supporters is to get 5% of the popular vote, so the party can qualify for millions of dollars in federal money in future presidential elections. And some supporters say they don't want to hurt Gore, so they are running ads in major newspapers in states where the race is not tight. The ads reason that voting for a candidate who can't win is the smartest thing you'll ever do. |
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RALPH
NADER: Gore hasn't mentioned my name until today, when he uttered the
original phrase, "a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush." Geez, what a
creative chap he is, isn't he? 
BETTY
ANN BOWSER: Nader has been drawing big crowds in rallies around the
country. Polls show that even though his numbers are small, they are
big enough to make a difference in eight states that President Clinton
carried, eight states which had not earlier been considered a problem
for Gore. They are: Maine, with four electoral votes. Maine with eight,
Michigan with eighteen electoral votes, Minnesota with ten electoral
votes, Nevada with four electoral votes, New Mexico with seven electoral
votes, Oregon with seven electoral votes, Washington with 11 electoral
votes, and Wisconsin with 11 electoral votes. In all, it's a total of
70 electoral votes in states where Al Gore is in a neck-and-neck contest
with Governor Bush. 
RALPH
NADER: I want to build the progressive movement. Stage one will be November
7 with thousands of people who share that objective. And immediately
the Green Party becomes the disciplining watchdog on the two parties,
putting their feet to the fire and the only message they understand,
which is loss of votes in future elections.